Showing posts with label sci fi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sci fi. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Ferocious by Paula Stokes: Playlist!!

Hello there guys!

Once again I'm dusting off the blog to share my love for a book and an author that is in my auto-buy list!

Last year I shared the playlist for the first book in this duology, and now I'm back to share the playlist for Ferocious by Paula Stokes, the second & final book of the Vicarious duology!

I'm a big bad of reading books with the playlist that either inspired the writing or that was chosen by the author because it's what fits best the moments in the book!

So today we have Paula here to tell us a bit more about the songs she chose for Ferocious! I have created a Spotify playlist that you can check out in the link below or check the YouTube videos below!

FEROCIOUS PLAYLIST by Paula Stokes


When I create a playlist, I “watch” the book like it’s a movie in my head and select songs that fit individual scenes. I also try to find songs that match the tone of the story. Like Vicarious, Ferocious is an edgy, high-tech story with a lot of action and dark emotions. I definitely tapped into my love of 90s and early 00s grunge and alternative music when making this list, as well as some newer songs with that same gritty flavor. In case you don’t use Spotify, I have linked to official licensed (AKA non-pirated) YouTube videos. Because they’re licensed, most of them have ads, but instead of thinking about how ads suck, try to think of it like ads are making it possible for these content creators to actually be paid for their work. You would want to be paid for your work, right? I hope you enjoy :) 

300 VIOLIN ORCHESTRA BY JORGE QUINTERO
I’m starting off with this awesome tune because I think it would make the best background for a trailer. It’s got the perfect mix of music to encapsulate both action and romance scenes and does a good job of putting the reader in the right mood for Ferocious.

CENTURIES (GAZZO REMIX) BY FALL OUT BOY
I always include a song I imagine playing before the “book movie” actually starts, which in this case is the Gazzo remix of Centuries. I like the remix because it’s slower and because some of the electronic parts give the song a bit of an Asian feel. This song also encapsulates Winter’s state of mind as she embarks upon a mission of vengeance that she’s not expecting to survive.

FOR YOU BY STAINED
The book starts right where Vicarious ends, with Winter making a choice to take the MetroLink train toward the airport, to seek revenge against the man she knows is responsible for her sister’s death. She’s very upset because of things that have happened with Gideon, and this song captures the rage and despair she’s feeling as the story begins.

BOTHER BY STONE SOUR
Later the same day, Winter goes to a hotel room where she plays a ViSE recording from Gideon. It gives her needed information but also calls forth a lot of memories. Her emotions overwhelm her for a bit, and I thought immediately of this haunting, emotional song.

LAST RESORT BY PAPA ROACH
Later in the hotel room, Winter pulls out her throwing knives and starts practicing with them, throwing them at her mattress, over and over until she starts to feel calm again. This song captures all of the anger and helplessness she’s feeling in that scene.

KILL A MAN BY RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
When Winter gets to Los Angeles to search for her brother, one of the first things she does is, well, kill a man. Like the man she killed at the end of Vicarious, Winter doesn’t feel particularly guilty about this death, and this lack of remorse causes her to wonder if she’s some kind of monster.

MAMA BY EXO
One of the first things Winter and Jesse do in Seoul in go to Namdaemun Market for supplies. While they’re shopping, Winter sees a girl she thinks is spying on them and she chases this girl down the streets of Seoul. Mama is a fast-paced fun song that feels like it would work with a chase scene. Also, you should click this link just to watch the rather incredible animated beginning to this K-Pop video.

THIS MOMENT WE OWN IT BY 2 CHAINZ AND WIZ KHALIFA
In Seoul, Sebastian “Baz” Faber helps Winter with her plans to track down her brother and infiltrate UsuMed. One of those plans involves the two of them riding a motorcycle through the darkened streets of Seoul. This upbeat tune feels like the perfect complement to that scene.

BAD BLOOD BY TAYLOR SWIFT
I’m not really into pop (country?) music so I don’t follow Taylor Swift, but I heard this song at the gym and I thought it was catchy. The rest of this playlist is pretty dark, so this song is here to lighten things up during the scene when Jesse and Winter practice sparring on the rooftop. They’ve still got some issues they haven’t really addressed with each other and they work them out a little while they’re “fighting.”

HEAVY BY LINKIN PARK FEATURING KIIARA
“I'm holding on. Why is everything so heavy? Holding on. So much more than I can carry.” Heavy is a great song to describe Winter thinking about her mental illness at several different points throughout the book. RIP, Chester. You and your music made a lot of people stronger <3 nbsp="" p="">
NEVER TOO LATE BY 3 DAYS GRACE
Halfway through the book Baz forces Winter to confront just how serious her mental illness really is. Overwhelmed by what she learns, she flees to the rooftop of the building and considers jumping. After all, can someone like her even be fixed? Can she ever really live a normal life? Winter isn’t sure, but Jesse comes to find her and talks her literally down from her ledge.

RENEGADES BY X AMBASSADORS
Winter and Jesse don’t get a lot of time for romance in this book because she’s dealing with more serious issues and emotions. But there’s one night when Winter decides to take Jesse someplace special in the city. There, for a couple of hours, they forget about danger and revenge and just embrace each other’s company. I hear this song when they’re looking at the love locks and playing in the snow.

45 BY SHINEDOWN
Near the end of the book, Winter is literally staring down the barrel of a gun, knowing that she can shoot someone, but if she does then she’ll probably die too. It’s a struggle for her and she goes through several different emotions during this moment, all of which are captured by this song.

BLACK HOLE SUN BY SOUNDGARDEN
Winter and Jesse escape UsuMed and end up spending the night outside in the freezing cold. They’re safe for the moment but Winter is worried about her brother and Baz, so she’s exhausted and sad. Kind
of like the way the world was exhausted and sad after hearing about Chris Cornell’s death. RIP, Chris. “No one sings like you anymore.”

RUN BY SNOW PATROL
Winter and Jesse eventually end up on Jeju Island. They’re staying in a hotel waiting for things to calm down after what happened at UsuMed before trying to return to the U.S. Winter is also doing a lot of thinking—about herself and her illness and her feelings for Jesse, trying to decide if she can reconcile all of those things or if she’s going to have to let Jesse go.

STOP FOR A MINUTE BY KEANE AND K’NAAN
The last song on my playlist is always the song I imagine playing as the credits to my “book movie” are rolling. I picked this song because it encompasses Winter’s frame of mind throughout the novel, and also because it’s more uplifting than the rest of the playlist, hinting that happier things are ahead for the main characters.

I hope you enjoyed my FEROCIOUS playlist :) Wanna check out the one I made for VICARIOUS? Click here. Are you totally new to this series? I’m giving away a VICARIOUS paperback (INT) on Twitter from 8/29 to 8/31.


<3 nbsp="" p=""> Ferocious by Paula Stokes
<3 nbsp="" p="">
<3 nbsp="" p="">Paula Stokes returns to the world of Vicarious in this sequel, a high-action psychological thriller with a protagonist out for vengeance.

When Winter Kim finds out that her sister is dead and that she has a brother she never knew about, only two things matter―finding what’s left of her family and killing the man who destroyed her life. Her mission leads her from St. Louis to Los Angeles back to South Korea, where she grew up.

Things get increasingly dangerous once Winter arrives in Seoul. Aided by her friends Jesse and Sebastian, Winter attempts to infiltrate an international corporation to get close to her target, a nefarious businessman named Kyung. But keeping her last remaining loved ones out of the line of fire proves difficult, and when all seems to be lost, Winter must face one last devastating decision: is revenge worth sacrificing everything for? Or can she find a spark of hope in the darkness that threatens to engulf her?



https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34643681-ferocious

<3 nbsp="" p="">  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository


Paula Stokes is a mental health nurse and the author of several novels, most recently Ferocious and This is How it Happened. Her writing has been translated into eleven foreign languages. Paula loves kayaking, hiking, reading, and seeking out new adventures in faraway lands. She also loves interacting with readers.


Monday, October 21, 2013

Mark This Book Monday: Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano!!

For the next entry of this week's Mark This Book Monday, one of my highly awaited reads of the year and fortunately one that didn't disappoint!


Perfect Ruin (Internment Chronicles, #1)Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Perfect Ruin has been one of my highly awaited books of the year. I really liked Lauren DeStefano's Chemical Garden trilogy and the blurb and snippets of the book I saw online were really intriguing. As usual, I'll keep my review as spoiler-free as possible!

Perfect Ruin is the story of Morgan, a girl living in the floating city of Internment. It is a slow building story where we're summerged into Morgan's life and her head. We discover Internment from her eyes, with the way she loves it and the way she wants more than just her floating city. With how she deals with her everyday life, her damaged family and her "jumper" brother. We learn the edge of Internment is dangerous and anyone that tries to look over it or even try to jump is returned to the surface damaged or dead.

Everything is controlled in Internment, from the time you are born to who you'll spend your life with, since you are paired with your intended since even before birth. You can only have a child if and when you're approved for it, you will live till the alloted time and then be disposed of to make space for new members of the society. The lack of space in a floating island surely will mean a tight control of the populace, but all the restrictions can get stiffling to some of the less conformist and indoctrinated of the population.

In that controlled and apparently idillic society happens something unheard of, a murder. And that murder shakes the usual if fragile peace of Internment, give even more fuel to the small lingering doubts that Morgan's life experience had created so far.

Morgan is an odd mix herself. She's always trying to stay low given her brother "jumper" status and how that puts her family in the spotlight for suspicion and mistrust from regular citizens and the guys in charge alike. She knows she is an odd one, wondering about the ground and questioning things but at the same time she keeps on trying to conform. She's unsure most of the time, feeling inadecuate and fears revealing who she really is to Basil, her intended and even from Pen, her best friend, since she thinks they wouldn't understand her discontent and would reject and denounce her.

Perfect Ruin is a slow read, you keep on learning little tidbits here and there, the story keeps a slow but forward progression as we get more information about what's going on and also some information about the past. Characters are well built up, even those secondary ones that keep on surprising us with their depth. Romance is present with Basil and Morgan, but it's more sweet and understated, more supporting than driving.

The first three quarters of the book are mostly world building and reading it in the gorgeous prose and style of Lauren DeStefano is a treat in itself. Then in the last quarter of the book all the action comes up and you are left as if a tornado had spinned you around! It's not that the ending is a horrible cliffhanger or entirely unexpected, but you're left wondering where the heck does the author plan to take things from here?

A very well deserved 4 stars for this one.



View all my reviews

Thursday, October 10, 2013

TWO Blog Tour: Review + Favourite Quote!



Hello everyone and welcome to my stop on the Blog Tour for TWO by Leigh Ann Kopans, organized by the ladies at Pen And Muse Press!

TWO is the awaited sequel to One and came out on October 8th. I was so very excited to read this one since I absolutely loved One and its unique premise and voice. I was also very much in love with the cover and with the fact that we'd be getting this story book from Elias' POV! I'll be sharing with you all both my review and my favourite quote.

I had trouble picking my favourite quote cause I loved so many, but then thinking about it, I just remembered something that really resonated with me, and I wanted to share this particular quote with all of you:

"I feel safer on the ground, but being safe is not what we're always meant to do. I know that now."

Curious already? Check out the stunning cover and the blurb!


 Elias and Merrin’s story continues in TWO, coming October, 2013...

Elias and Merrin are on the run.

After escaping the Biotech Hub, they thought they could breathe easy, or at least a little easier. But when bombs slam into the Social Welfare Hub only hours after their arrival, it becomes clear there's nowhere to hide - and no end to what Biotech will do to get them back.

Their last chance for safety and answers is the Clandestine Service Hub. CS has intel on the real, broader purpose behind Fisk’s experiments , and the newfound knowledge of the horrors hidden deep within Biotech’s walls sends Merrin back to recover a secret formula that could ruin the Supers’ world forever—and might just save the lives of the Biotech victims spiraling out of control.

Elias' sisters are counted among the victims of Fisk’s experiments, and if Elias can't find and help them, their powers will destroy them--sooner rather than later. Returning to the place it all began terrifies him, but with Fisk ready to make an example out of Merrin, and his sisters’ lives --and the lives of all Supers--hanging in the balance, he might not have a choice. If he can't find the courage to face his worst fears, Elias might lose more than his newfound powers.

He might lose everyone he loves.


Two on pre-order from author’s site: http://www.leighannkopans.com/index2.php#!/Order_TWO

Two on Amazon:
Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Two-One-Universe-Volume-2/dp/1492176486
Ebook: http://www.amazon.com/Two-One-Universe-ebook/dp/B00FKLKQNU/ref=la_B00DAIZ3HY_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381260053&sr=1-3

Two on Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/two-leigh-ann-kopans/1117016442?ean=9781492176480





About the author: Raised on comic books and classic novels, Leigh Ann developed an early love of science fiction and literature. As an adult, she rediscovered her love for not only reading, but also writing the types of fiction that enchanted her as a teen. Her debut novel, ONE, is about a girl with only half a superpower, the boy who makes her fly, and her struggle to make herself whole.








Leigh Ann on Goodreads:http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6439443.LeighAnn_Kopans

Leigh Ann on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LeighAnnKopans

Leigh Ann on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeighAnnKopansbooks

Leigh Ann on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/leighannkopans/one-two/

Leigh Ann’s website: http://www.leighannkopans.com/index2.php#!/HOME

Leigh Ann’s blog: http://leighannkopans.blogspot.com/

My Review:

After finishing ONE, the debut for LeighAnn Kopans and finding out that there was gonna be a sequel (there had to, with that ending!), I was extremely impatient to get to read it and when the author gave me the chance to get an ARC I jumped at it! I got the ARC in exchange for an honest review and my opinion is my own.

TWO is the sequel that takes up right where ONE left us, and even though I'm gonna try my best to avoid spoilers for the book, I don't think I can avoid spoilers for ONE.

Where ONE was told from Merrin's perspective, TWO is told from Elias' and that took a little while for to get used to. His perspective is so different from Merrin's and I was quite used to being in Merrin's head, but seeing how the story progresses it had to be told from Elias' perspective.

The Biotech Hub was severly damaged once Merrin rescued Elias, his sisters and her own brothers with the help of her parents. Merrin and Elias are on the run, trying to find a safe place to hide and find some answers to all the questions the information they got at Biotech prompted. They know their best bets are the other Hubs cause Supers, not even Ones, aren't entirely welcome amongst the general population. Social Welfare Hub is their first pit stop but it's clear that they're not safe from Biotech there so they fly to their best option: the Clandestine Service Hub or CSH (or the Supers CIA equivalent).

Elias is more damaged and rattled from the experience in Biotech's lab and all the revelations they had to face there than he even wants to acknowledge and that is the major motivation of how he deals with their immediate present and future. He's so worried about everyone's safety, Merrin's and his sisters' most of all, and he seems to carry the world on his shoulders, always worrying about how to keep everyone safe while Merrin keeps on trying to find answers and solutions.

The relationship between Merrin and Elias does take a bit of a toll due to their different focus and Elias keeps on having some insecurities about what Merrin's feelings really are and what their different outlooks might mean for their relationship, which are very real concerns and a way to keep both their characters and the relationship itself growing and changing.

We get some old friends back, like Leni and Daniel, and they also make some new friends with different Supers that make Merrin want to learn and push more and that get Elias to worry even more.

There are plenty of twists and turns in the plot, with some quite unexpected surprises thrown for good measure. There's a fight against time and a daring rescue again, and despite his wish for staying safe, Elias has the key to save everyone if he decides that risks are worth taking.

A fantastic sequel that closes the series but that could leave some openings for spin off stories, that I do hope the author will take, cause I'd love to read more about the ONE & TWO universe!

Very well deserved 4 and a half stars!


Monday, July 15, 2013

Mark This Book Monday: ACID by Emma Pass!!

And would you believe it? My motivation must have stopped trying to run to the hills cause here I am with the final Mark This Book Monday for this week!

This book I discovered via Twitter and the recommendations of some of the authors I follow in there, so thank you Twitter!


ACID by Emma Pass




Writing a review for ACID is gonna be a bit tough, not because I don't think it is a brilliant book, that it is, but because I think this is one of those reviews that must be absolutely spoiler free, and that's gonna be hard to pull off!

ACID is a purely dystopian tale, with a touch of science fiction due to the future time setting, but it doesn't have the usual post-apocalyptic undertones of other dystopians. Here there was no worldwide catastrophe, here humanity doesn't have to start from scratch, here there was a bid for power at a vulnerable moment in history, and a country has been shaped at those powers' will.

There are some elements that would remind me of 1984 and even A Brave New World, in the way society has been changed, and in how fear & lies are what keep the populace under control.

ACID is Jenna Strong's story but not only hers. Jenna does honour her last name, she's a very strong and resilient character. I loved having a main character that was a female and kicked arse!

But the best thing about ACID is not just having a strong female character as the main character, the best thing about ACID was how it kept managing to surprise me at every twist of the story! I kept expecting the story to go one way, turned the page and bam! I had been thrown a curve ball and was surprised. Time after time! And that's also the main reason I don't want to discuss plot much during the review, cause I don't want to let anything slip!

This was a great read, and also quite a change of pace since it's a stand alone and it felt great enjoying and wrapping a story in one book.

Very much deserved 4 stars for this one!

Mark This Book Monday: One by Leigh Ann Kopans!

Well, it seems that I'm getting some of my motivation back, and now I have the third Mark This Book Monday of the day ready!

I don't even remember how I stumbled upon this book on Goodreads, I'm just glad I did!


One by Leigh Ann Kopans




One is the kinda book that sounds interesting enough to grab and once you start reading it just proves to you that it was quite the right choice!

There might be some minor spoilers in the review, and I really hope I can keep them to a minimum.

I actually had a difficult time trying to get One on my Kindle since I was looking for the book by typing the author name wrong! I kept typing Leigh Ann Kopans instead of LeighAnn Kopans, and I almost gave up trying to find it, just glad I didn't!

The premise of the book is interesting and unique enough: What if humans can have superpowers but it doesn't work exactly as we've always seen it on comics and movies? What if to fly you need a combination of more than one ability? And what if not everyone get that but are left with just one?

In this world you can either be a Super (someone with two or more powers) a Normal (someone without any superpower) or you can be a One (the pariah to both sides, not special enough for the Supers, too different for the Normals).

Merrin is a One, her measly power is making herself light enough to sort of float/hover and she had been at the Supers High School hoping to develop another power that would allow her to fly. When that doesn't happen, her parents decide to tranfer her to a regular high school for Normals where she won't have to deal with as much rejection.

All Merrin has ever wanted is fix herself and as an intellectual portent she is aiming to join the Hub and work on something that will make her more than just a One. Meeting Elias on her new high school and feeling like her world is turning upside down was not part of her plan, and even less was discovering what she and Elias can do together, that two Ones can complete each other.

Not only the premise of this book is unique but also Merrin is not your usual love-swept girl. Romance is a key factor in the book, and a big driving force for everything that happens, but it doesn't make Merrin a doe-eyed damsel in distress, all the contrary, it makes her fierce and she is the one doing the rescuing!

The ending has closure to a point, but leaves enough open doors to really await the second book eagerly, thankfully without a cliffhanger!

Very well deserved 4 stars to this one!